THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER FRITZ PETERSON Pitcher for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers (1966-1976); Author of When the Yankees Were On the Fritz: Revisiting the "Horace Clarke Era," and Mickey Mantle Is Going to Heaven

Vida Blue or Alonzo Neal? You decide.

Let’s talk about an obscure ex-Yankee, Jim Deidel, a catcher who played in two major league games in 1974 – both about five weeks after I was traded to the Indians. There’s a point to this, I promise. Jim’s MLB debut was on May 31, 1974 against the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium. Bill Virdon had Lou Piniella pinch hit for Rick Dempsey, and Jim came in to catch the bottom of the eighth inning. He played again five days later in Chicago, as catcher in the ninth inning of what would become a fifteen inning game. He went 0-for-2 and the Yankees lost. He never played in the majors again, but he did play in two games and that is an extraordinary accomplishment.

Deidel was the Yankees #1 pick in the 15th round of the 1967 Amateur Draft. There were 77 rounds of that draft – 974 players total — and because of the Horace Clarke Era, the Yankees had first pick in each of those rounds. Of those 77 picks, only 5 ever donned the pinstripes: Ron Blomberg (1st Round); Larry Gowell (4th Round); Deidel; Loyd Colson (28th Round); and Roger Hambright (67th Round). Here others — Mike Reinbach (43rd Round); Sam Ewing (45th Round); and Steve Rogers (60th Round) – made it to the majors, but not as Yankees.

It’s not easy making it to the major league, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy being Yankees General Manager Lee McPhail, trying to play Carnac the Magnificent as he tried to predict the ingredients for the next generation of the greatest team to ever play baseball. Could the Horace Clarke Era have come to a close if McPhail had drafted Vida Blue instead of Alonzo Neal?; Ralph Garr instead of James Yawn? Steve Busby instead of Gowell? (My answer: I wouldn’t have given up my fifteen days with Larry for anything!) Billy Barlow or Dave Goltz? How about this one: Dusty Baker or Ronald Watts? I posted the full 1967 Draft on my website. What would you do? Let me know.